INTERNATIONAL TRADE : Russian Finance Firm Moving Headquarters From Berlin to Irvine

A Russian trading and finance company announced Tuesday that it will move its corporate headquarters to Irvine from Berlin, effective Aug. 6.

Ort International Inc.--known as Ortex Handels & Leasing Gmbh in Germany and Ortex Trading & Finance in Russia--said it signed a seven-year lease with Irvine Co. for 8,000 square feet of office space in the Jamboree Center building on Park Plaza.

The company’s founders are Michael A. Gura, 36, and Eugene G. Kalakoutski, 30, both Russian nationals who now live in Newport Beach. They established the trading company in 1987 in Moscow. Two years later, they moved the company’s headquarters to Berlin. In September, they formed Ortam Inc., a U.S. subsidiary based in Irvine.

Ort International plans to introduce the first ruble-based international credit card in Moscow this fall, said Joseph L. Dorfman, executive director of Ortam Inc., the trading arm of Ort International, which will also be based in Irvine.

“Each subsidiary of Ort International will be marketing the credit card to individuals and companies worldwide,” he said. “We want Ortam to become a purchasing powerhouse for many goods and services needed in the Commonwealth of Independent States.”

Ortam has 15 employees in Irvine. In August, when Ort International is established and becomes the parent of Ortam, the number of employees will double, Dorfman said.

Last year, Ortex Gmbh and Ortex Trading had combined annual revenue of 2 billion rubles, which is equivalent to about $32.5 million under the official exchange rate and $11.11 million in the black market.

As for picking Irvine for company headquarters, Dorfman said, “Where else but in California can we establish ourselves as a viable trading company in the international market?”